When Should You Get Preapproved for a Mortgage?

Get preapproved before you start touring homes seriously — ideally one to three months before you expect to write an offer. In a market like Seattle, listings can go from open house to accepted offer in under a week, and you cannot write a credible offer without a preapproval letter in hand. Earlier is almost always better than later: preapproval is free to refresh, but scrambling for one over a weekend while your dream house takes other offers is how buyers lose homes.

The longer answer: preapproval is a starting gun, not a finish line

First, terms. A prequalification is an estimate based on what you tell a lender — quick, soft, and worth little in an offer. A preapproval means the lender pulled your credit and reviewed actual documents (pay stubs, W-2s or tax returns, bank statements) and is conditionally willing to lend a stated amount. Sellers’ agents know the difference, and in multiple-offer situations a flimsy letter reads as risk.

Here’s why “before serious touring” is the right timing:

1. It sets your real budget. The number you can borrow is a DTI calculation, not a guess — and it’s frequently different from what online calculators implied. Touring homes you can’t finance is the most expensive form of window shopping; calibrate first with our affordability calculator, then let a lender confirm it.
2. It surfaces problems while they’re still fixable. A credit-report error, an old collection, a thin file — these take weeks or months to resolve. Found at preapproval, they’re a to-do list. Found in underwriting, they’re a blown deal. If your score needs work, see what credit score you need to buy in Washington.
3. It makes you offer-ready on no notice. When the right house lists on Thursday with offers due Monday, preapproved buyers compete and everyone else watches.

How long a preapproval lasts — and the refresh rhythm

Preapproval letters typically run 60–90 days, tied to the shelf life of your credit pull and documents. If your search runs long, the lender refreshes it — usually a quick update, not a restart. So there’s little penalty for going early: a preapproval that expires costs you a document refresh; a preapproval you don’t have costs you the house.

Two timing nuances worth knowing:

• Credit-pull anxiety is overblown. Mortgage inquiries within a short shopping window are generally treated as one event by scoring models — which matters, because you should be quoting multiple lenders, not marrying the first one. The playbook is in how to shop mortgage lenders.
• Preapproval is not a rate lock. Your rate isn’t fixed until you lock on an actual transaction. How locks work — and when to pull that trigger — is in what a mortgage rate lock is.

After you’re preapproved: don’t break it

A preapproval is a snapshot of your finances; keep the picture still. Until closing: no new credit cards or car loans, no job changes without telling your lender, no large unexplained deposits or transfers. Underwriters re-verify everything late in the process, and self-inflicted changes are the most preventable way deals die.

Related questions

Does getting preapproved obligate me to that lender? No. You can — and usually should — get preapproved by one lender and ultimately close with whoever offers the best terms when you’re under contract.

Should I get preapproved before or after hiring an agent? Either order works, but before has an edge: you’ll interview agents already knowing your real budget, and a good agent will ask for your letter anyway before touring.

What if my finances change for the better — bonus, raise, debt paid off? Tell your lender and refresh the letter. A higher preapproval (or a cleaner DTI) can expand your search or strengthen your offer terms.

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A lender letter answers what you can borrow; it says nothing about what your agent will charge. Manaky Homes is a free marketplace where Greater Seattle agents publish their fees side by side — reserve your spot on the waitlist.